Nancy Parsons

Nancy Parsons

Quite possibly the quintessential cinematic personification of the sexually repressed high school gym teacher, Nancy Parsons had a curiously interesting and diverse catalog of film roles, though that of fearsome phys ed nightmare Beulah Balbricker in Porky's and its sequels will likely live eternally in the hearts of teen sex-comedy aficionados as her defining role. A native of Lake Minnetonka, MN, Parsons' passion for Shakespeare led her to California at the age of 16, where she studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. Though she found work in the L.A. theater scene early on, Parsons soon turned away from acting in favor of marriage and family life. Her marital bliss short-lived, Parsons returned to her passion after her divorce, finding small roles in such films as I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). Though her comic abilities were hinted at in the 1980 Bill Murray comedy Where the Buffalo Roam, that same year yielded her breakout role in the horror-spoof Motel Hell, playing opposite Jimmie Dean wannabe Rory Calhoun in the gruesomely humorous tale of a farmer with questionable practices in sausage manufacturing. Following the next year with Pennies From Heaven and Porky's, Parsons' fate was sealed as a talented and versatile actress with a good sense of humor. The following years brought Parsons a number of comedic roles, always shifting effortlessly between the dramatic and comedic with roles in such polar opposites as Porky's Revenge (1985) and Steel Magnolias (1989). Parsons also appeared frequently on television, in roles ranging from Charlie's Angels to Star Trek: The Next Generation (on the set of which she frequently traded Shakespearian dialogue with fellow Bard-fan Patrick Stewart). Continuing her television work through the '90s with recurring roles in Days of our Lives, one of Parsons' fondest memories of that decade's film appearances was her role in The Doctor (1991). A fan of actor William Hurt, Parsons cherished the opportunity to appear with Hurt on film. Though ailing in health in the later '90s, Parsons continued to appear on television in L.A. Law and The Pretender, before her death in early 2001 after an extended battle with diabetes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide